Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Black in color with no light getting through. A fingernail of khaki head rests on top. Brussels lacing. Aroma of dark malt,coffee,and tobacco is detectable. The flavor is plenty of bitter, dark malt with a hint of smokiness. The mouth is silky and creamy. (260 characters)

Pours nearly black with a big, poofy head of darker tan. Retention is not it's strength though as it drops to a wee, thin film in just a few minutes. Decent lace is left behind.Smell is heavily toasted malts, coffee and cardboard. Not a great balance but not heavily weighted to one aspect either.Taste is strong on burnt malts and coffee (not my favorite flavors) with nothing else really coming to the party to balance them out. Aftertaste gets quite ashy.Body is medium at best, effervescence is mild. Slightly warming especially after some temperature rise. Drying finish. All told, not a great porter for me. I like them sweeter - and I hate coffee - but if there had been something to balance the coffee and toasted malt notes this could have been quite good. If you're buying, I accept one, otherwise, no. (815 characters)

Very nice beer. Would drink anytime. It cranks the bitterness in your mouth then when swallowed the bitterness disappears instantly instead of lingering, making you want more! So drinkable it's laughable! (204 characters)

A: Pours a dark brown, nearly black color. A two finger tan head rises with good retention, and rings of sticky lace.S: Roasted malts up front. Bakers chocolate, coffee. A fairly simple malt character, which is nice. Then a green tea, leafy hop aroma lingers.T: Like the nose, up front is roasted malt, bitter chocolate, and coffee. Then a piny, green leafy hop flavor lingers.M/D: A medium to full body. Moderate carbonation with a crisp smoothness. Easy and enjoyable to drink. The six pack will be gone in no time.

I think the roasted malts and leafy hop finish work at odds a bit, though this is still very enjoyable. A nice American example that I will return to if I get another chance. (709 characters)

Pours black with a thin frothy head. Smell mainly chocolate with coffee hint. Coffee really comes out in taste with a piney hop finish. The bite gets big in the end and prevents smoothness and bite lingere. This is a busy porter but takes away from some things I drink a porter for. (286 characters)

Pours a dark brown. 1/4 inch of a tan color. Decent retention and good lacing. Smells of a strong sweet malt, nuts, yeast, pale malt, slight hops, hint of roasted malt, and a hint of pine. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. There is also a noticeable dryness and slight bitterness. Tastes of strong roasted malt, sweet malt, hops, pine, yeast, and a hint of pale malt. Overall, good blend, aroma, body, and mouth feel. (457 characters)

Appetizer: did not have glass to pour, so color / carbonation was indiscernible in the brown bottle; "nice porter" sweet smell

Entree: nice initial hit taste, but aftertaste mildly harsh; mid-way thru the bottle, after taste subsides from a about a 3 on bad scale to about 1.5 (the more u drink theory as to improving taste or the so-called killing of your taste buds)

Dessert: per label a "bitttersweet ale / session beer consumed by Porters in London"; gotta admit improves towards the emptying of the bottle; I'd compare this to (in my book) an overrated Founders Porter (not impressed as you can imagine given the hype); all in all, not the worst of the style so give it a try (or re-try)

The beer is dark brown, approaching black, nearly opaque with a small beige cap. Aromas include the expected roasted malt, chocolate. Light char and coffee notes in the flavor. The body is perhaps a tad thin. Overall, pretty good, but perhaps a little weak in body and potency. (345 characters)

Appearance: Poured vigorously to produce a dense head of a finger and a half. Sits black in the glass with above average active carbonation for the style. Some random lacing left behind with each drink.

Smell: Sweet lactose and oats greet the drinker. Dark roasted coffee grounds are very clean and deliver a concise aroma. Vanilla and molasses picked up on the back end. Great balance of sweet tones with solid roasted malt body.

Taste: subtle oats and creamy malt hits on the front. After that, the beer sort of just lulls its way into the body with no significant taste additions. Some very light roasted malt and dry almost burnt coffee grounds are picked up on the back end. The finish is lingering bitter chocolate and dry coffee.

Mouthfeel: Full range run here with this brew. The front is sweet, creamy, and airy while the finish is filled with roasted malt and coffee leaving a very dry palate behind.

Overall: Loved the aroma but was let down with the taste. The front is enticing but nothing notable happens until the finish. I porter I would recommend trying but nothing to seek out. (1,102 characters)

Overall: Not a bad porter, but it seemed to me to be nothing but bitter, dark coffee flavors. I would have appreciated more depth of flavor. The mouthfeel was also a bit of a throw-off, being lighter and much more carbonated than expected. (673 characters)

Color is almost dark black with a little amber light coming through the edge. Tan head is thick but fades to a spotted lace.Smell- Roasted character stands out with light bitter chocolate and charcoal. Some light grain and bread from the malt.Taste- Light sweet bitter chocolate with roasted malt giving a good coffee note. Light ash charcoal and tobacco. Some bitterness from hops but roasted malt dominates. (411 characters)

Very dark black pour with some lighter red hues around the edges. Even though it's very dark, it's got a clearishness to it, despite being completely opaque. The head is just over a finger thick, full of camel-colored bubbles. Very foamy looking head. Gives the premonition it's going to be creamy. Decent retention and a thin lace.

Very malty, particularly chocolate and caramel malts. Chocolate is always there, but the caramel comes wafting up from the glass as the beer warms. Little hop presence in the nose.

A bit of chocolate in the taste and the caramel malts are noticeable. While I've never had cold coffee, this taste is what I imagine it tastes like. Very caramelly, like a soda.

The mouthfeel lacks the creamy smoothness I expected from the look and smell. It starts off sweet before bitterness starts to take over, but it's never too bitter, just enough to balance the malt bomb. Slight watery feel with a fairly carbonated, cleansing finish.

Another good beer from Tyranena. Not sure I've had a bad one yet and this is a good one. ABV is shown as 5.75% on their website, so it's almost a session beer. Feel free and don't worry about needing to sip, just go at it. (1,183 characters)

A - Gentle pour yields half a finger of khaki colored froth on top of a mostly opaque black body. Some ruby hues shining through when held to the light, and some carbonation bubbles visible rising to the top. No lacing.

Overall, an effectively well-made porter. Porters aren't typically my favorite style, but I do like finding one I enjoy. Reminded me a bit of Founders Porter, which I also remember enjoying. Smooth, creamy, delicious. Another beer from Tyranena that I would be happy to revisit.

T: A bit of burnt malt, not much else. Watery, lacks malt. I feel like I know exactly what the brewers were thinking when they put this porter together. They likely decided that if they added too much malt, the burnt taste would be overpowering. Amateur mistake, with a porter, your malt options are so diverse, but it tastes like the wort was a weak burnt malt tea.

M: Smooth, but seriously lacking in body. With this style, I would prefer a full-bodied feel. The carbonation is there, but unremarkable. Low carbonation is probably not something that I should fault a porter for, but I found myself seeking distraction from the boring flavour of this brew.

O: The smell of this brew promised much more. Not well balanced. Not malty, which is all I need say to damn a porter. I like trying new brews, but I can't say that I would ever go out and buy this. Maybe if I'm looking for an example of how not to make beer. Boring, but unoffensive. (1,225 characters)

Poured out the expected dark brown color with a nice two finger khaki head that lasts for several minutes, medium levels of lacing are left behind on the glass. The aroma contains a mild amount of chocolate and roasted malt notes, but the flavor contains all of these thing -plus- a nice medium dose of coffee with a hint of plums wandering around in the background, and the texture of the brew is silky smooth. Now this is definitely more like it! (478 characters)

Pours ebony in color with faint brown highlights if you look for them. Vigorous pour yields a bubbly tan head that recedes after a short while. Aroma is of darkly roasted malt--almost acrid and coffee-like. Flavor is bolder than I expected, like black coffee but not as obnoxiously bitter. The carbonation helps temper the astringently roasted malt flavor. A bit more hop presence than I'm used to in a porter, but not bad. My lamentation here is there isn't much complexity behind the bold, yet one-dimensional, flavor. What's there is not objectionable, but it wears thin without greater depth. Overal, this is a decent porter that offers a more palatable coffee-flavored malt than most, but it lacks the nuance a complexity to really engage me. (747 characters)

A- Dark, dark ruby, almost black. Tan head that leaves rather quick. Average lacing. Looks like a lighter bodied porter.

S- Smell is full of roasted barley, caramel, vanilla, wood, earth, soil, all mingle well together. Really begs for a sip.

T- Taste follows aroma with slight herbal hops, burnt wood, earthy essence, dark baker's chocolate. Nice roastyness that doesn't overpower. Decent amount of bitterness from the roasted malts, not so much the hops. No alcohol present. A good tasting porter.

M- Very nice mouthfeel. Creamy yet fairly light bodied so two or three wont fill you up. Good amount of carbonation for the style, not ideal.

O- This is a really, really good everyday porter. Not something i'd reach for if i'm feeling sophisticated, but after a long day or by the bonfire, the lighter body and nice roastyness make this a good beer. (854 characters)

A rich black colored brew with a small off-white head that settles slowly and some patchy lace. Aroma is typical porter stuff, but fairly assertive; roasted malt, bitter black coffee, a bit of char and a hint of chocolate.

Medium-thin bodied, medium-high carbonation. A bit prickly and fizzy. I enjoy a somewhat smoother, creamier porter but this isn’t bad. Flavors and aroma are strong, falls on the bitter side of the style, still highly drinkable. (655 characters)

A-Amazing pour. Two fingers of gray khaki colored rocky foamy head. Stays about one finger the whole glass. Lacing licking all sides from each drink. Beautiful.

S-Smell is a bit of a letdown. I don't get in touch with many of the coffee and chocolate aromas as I am used to in a porter. I am instead greeted by a much more dull aroma in a mild form. A hint of coffee gives way to a spicy peppery aroma.

T- Also not great. It's just really mild tasting. The chocolate, the coffee and roasted malt character is there, but nothing stands out. They all are very mild tasting. The hop flavor is almost nonexistent to me too.

M- It's lighter bodied for a porter.

O-It's alright. Maybe I had an off day or an off batch. I love porters so I'll come back to this (758 characters)